Cyperaceae

Leaf sheath closed or rarely open and then the perianth reduced to bristles or minute scales Cyperaceae

Flowers unisexual, female flowers enclosed in a flask-shaped utricle (Fig. 46 e,g) or in separate spikelets

Bristle absent from female flower or short and not exserted Carex

Lowermost spikes, or collection of spikes, on each culm, subtended by a leafy bract as long as or longer than the spike

Spikes ovoid, 3–10 mm long, yellowish-green or green, often all clustered together into a ± ovoid head or racemose

Spikes oblong, more than 10 mm long, brownish to blackish-green